"It's so unique and special in its own way"- Lewis Hamilton says becoming an 8-time F1 champion still a 'goal' for him

Lewis Hamilton has revealed that winning the elusive 8th World Championship title is still the goal for him. The Mercedes driver was just one lap away from winning the 8th title last season at the 2021 F1 Abu Dhabi GP when Max Verstappen jumped him on the last lap with the aid of fresh tires.

The Briton has been unable to mount a challenge this season because Mercedes have just not been at the level of Red Bull and Ferrari. However, Lewis Hamilton has still been in very good form and scored quite a few podiums this season. When questioned if the goal for him was still to go after that 8th title, Hamilton said that he approached every title as his first one but doing something that no one else has ever been able to is surely something that motivates him. He said:

"Oh, for sure, it's a challenge. For me, it's just winning another World Championship. It's like, every one, I've approached it as my first, and the feeling of winning the World Championship, it's so unique and special in its own way. But of course, the idea that no driver in history has ever gone past seven, of course, you want to try and accomplish that."

The journey is the most important part: Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton did touch on the fact that as one gets older, the journey becomes the most important part and it's not just about the destination. He talked about how everything involved has to have a bigger picture to it. He said:

"But what I guess, as you get older, you realize the journey is the most important part and the ride that you do with all the people and all the people that you bring with you, and all the people that you try to elevate… there's an opportunity to elevate lots of people, not only in your team, but with the work that we're doing, with Mission 44, there's a much bigger picture to it. But from a personal point of view, yeah, winning another world title continues to be a goal. I'll be so proud to be able to do that for this team."

Lewis Hamilton is taking a new power unit at the 2022 F1 Italian GP this weekend and will be starting the race from the back of the grid. The Mercedes driver's PU was irreparably damaged by the 45G impact it suffered during the clash with Fernando Alonso at the Belgian GP earlier this year.

It does set up for an interesting race in Monza as Mercedes should have a strong race pace and it could be fun to watch the seven-time world champion storm his way through the circuit.